Safe and Responsible Internet Use in a Connected World: Promoting Cyber-Wellness

Abstract

Cyber-wellness concerns positive wellbeing in online spaces, including awareness of how to behave appropriately and protect oneself. We explain and illustrate the complex nature of cyber-wellness, focusing on four key aspects. Firstly, developing students’ information and media literacy skills is essential for promoting cyber-wellbeing. Such skills are also required for supporting democratic participation. Secondly, we identify and discuss the threats and challenges to young people’s cyber-wellbeing, arguing for the need to develop digital resilience. Thirdly, we discuss the role of policy at macro, meso and micro levels and how policy and educational practitioners can promote cyber-wellness awareness, knowledge and strategies. Finally we review the limited scholarship on cyber-wellness education and highlight the need to address this gap in the future. We conclude the article with consideration of the issues faced and opportunities for overcoming these. It is imperative that further work is undertaken on the conceptualisation of cyber-wellness and that concensus is developed. There are issues relating to the continual rapid developments of techologies and their uses; it is important to develop a shared understanding of the mutual relationship between technology and humans. Finally, there is a lack of guidance and good practice exemplars for cyber-wellness education.